1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical medical devices for use in surgical procedures. In particular embodiments, the optical surgical device may be used to remove tissue, blood, or other liquid and particulate matter.
2. Description of Related Art
Certain gynecological procedures require a physician to examine, diagnose and often remove or extract tissue, blood, or other matter from an operative site within the patient. For example, in a one relatively common procedure, the physician must accurately locate uterine tissue to be removed, scraped, and/or aspirated. In other procedures, the physician may want to examine the patient's fallopian tubes or other internal areas to diagnose or biopsy other medical problems or difficulties, or simply to insure that the desired results have been achieved.
Different forms of endoscopes have been used to access and examine such operative sites within the patient's body. Typically, such endoscopes comprise bundles of long optic fibers which extend into the body cavity being examined. Some conventional endoscopes include multiple channels, or lumens, extending alongside or concentric with the optic fiber bundles. These channels may be used to introduce a flushing fluid into the operative site or to provide a conduit for other instruments to reach the desired area.
Conventional endoscopes, however, generally do not allow a continuous flow of irrigation fluid into the operative site to clean both the operative site as well as the endoscope, while simultaneously removing the fluid and other particulate matter from the area. Instead, in some conventional devices, a single lumen is designated for both suction and irrigation functions. As a result, suction and irrigation cannot occur simultaneously. The suction and irrigation functions must operate in an alternating fashion. In other devices in which separate channels are provided for inlet and outlet fluids, the corresponding openings typically operate so that a stream of fluid which is inlet through one port is later outlet through another port in an alternating fashion. Such an endoscopic device, however, still does not operate as a continuous flow system in which irrigation and suction can occur simultaneously and continuously.
Another drawback of some conventional endoscopic tools is that they are often uncomfortably large or wide in diameter. For example, many traditional endoscopes use glass rods and lenses to deliver light and display images. However, due to the materials and methods used, such relatively large devices have been known to cause significant discomfort during insertion and manipulation after being inserted. Often, due to the physical size limitations of the endoscope device, the physician may perform the surgery without visually examining the operative area.
One device which includes some of the drawbacks described above is shown in FIGS. 1-3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,527 to Meyer (issued Mar. 12, 1991). Meyer discloses a complicated network of tubes combined in a metal sleeve. Each tube is designated for a specific function. For example, one of the tubes carries a resecting mechanism which breaks down large pieces of tissue into smaller pieces to be suctioned into another tube. As a consequence, however, the metal outer sleeve must be sufficiently large to retain the network of tubes, channels, etc.
Furthermore, conventional endoscopes are typically designed with rigid outer sleeves or sheaths made of a rigid plastic or metal material, such as that described above in the Meyer device. Such construction, however, is often difficult to manipulate within a patient's body, and generally requires extensive cleaning and sterilization after each use. Although some endoscopes incorporate both rigid and flexible materials for greater maneuverability during insertion and examination, such construction often requires substantial cleaning and sterilization to remove all contaminants trapped within the various crevices and openings of the different materials.
Moreover, it is particularly problematic to properly clean and sterilize tubes and conduits which form the lumens contained within conventional endoscopes. Because of the universal desire to maximize the patient's comfort during the examination, the lumens are typically designed to be as small as possible. However, such small openings tend to exacerbate the difficulty in properly cleaning and sterilizing the endoscope.